Hoops

World Champs: Opals vs Belarus 24-Sep

Looked up the accumulated stats for the 3 games played on the FIBA site and was a bit surprised. Guess who is leading the Opals scoring with 30 points at an average of 55.6%, but a bit disappointing 66.7% from the Free Thows. The player has also had the 3rd least minutes of any Opal player, 43 mins out of a possible 120mins.

The answer E Cambage

Ushiro - fair call, I'd forgotten abotu Sue and Cambage is definitely an upgrade ... BUT I still don't think she'll be as dominant as everybody is suggesting. Long-term international career definitely but not the lynchpin of the Opals as a lot of people think.

Don't actually see one coming so maybe we'll make do with a very balanced group for a while.

Actually Sue Geh was the first genuinely super-tall (for her era) female player at 205cm we've had and she was an "Andy Campbell". Sue represented Australia at the 1984 Olympics.

Cambage is a lot more mobile than Sue ever was and has a lot more potential.

#252 - thanks for pointing that out, hadn't noticed!

She's also 6'8 with a 'fragile' psyche which is completely understandable for a 19 year old, but not for the 'next big thing'. Loz was playing for Australia at 17 and integral at the Sydney Olympics.

The game is changing enormously and she will be going up against Brittney Griner (6'8 and regular 2-foot putback dunker). She had to be taken out of the game after Loz threw the pass to her on the break. Huge talent, not the player to build the Opals around but will certainly be a contributor.

She will consistently get he absolute crap beaten out of her and have to deal with that and still execute, yet Tolo (2 years her senior and not touted as the future of the Opals) absolutely stopped her in crunch time in last year's WNBL final.

For those who are old enough to remember, she's the Andy Campbell of the Opals - the first genuinely super-tall player we've had who, while being a solid contributor, was never quite athletic enough to dominate.

Hope I'm wrong - we'll need a couple of superstars when Loz, Penny and Kristy go.

Cambage at times looks very awkward and unco=ordinated - then she fakes, spins and drives to the basket. She actually looks better when moving than posting up.

If other forum members are correct and she is a high WNBA draft pick later this year, the experience and quality coaching on fundamentals could make her a star of the future. The potential seems to be there but consistancy is the problem at the moment.

She hasnt been getting any support from the refs so far - she has been consistantly been held and mugged when trying to work inside.

Some interesting trends emerging. Firstly, are Belarus competing in the netball at Delhi and decided by only getting one ste of uniforms?

Agree that both wins are rusty but good enough to convincingly get the job done without having to worry too much about the rotations being right - any 5 will do!

Still don't think Cambage is the future of the Opals -just not a good enough athlete.

I do think Abby looks limited at this level but hope this is a function of her bum still being numb from her time in Seattle.

Loz is doing enough to stay in touch without attracting too much attention.

Penny was out of touch but showed she is a class above even with the mistakes she made.

Grima seems to have fallen in love with the three but looked better today (and shot better) when she also mixed it up.

Tolo will be a terrific role player in this tournament - just flat-out competes and is genuinely long.

Richards is a defensive superstar and the offense looks much better when she is running the point rather than Tully.

Harrower has been exactly as good as expected.

Snell was excellent today but needs to hit that shot at a high rate to contribute.

Erin looks a little caught between being a 1 and a 2 at times. Not a pure shooter and not a creator but contributing with energy.

O'Hee (sorry - just going off the pronunciation on the telly) will be great value - as he say over and over - instant offense - which we will need in later rounds.

Tully looks very comfortable with a limited role bringing control at the point and defensive intensity.

Overall - a promising start while giving nothing awy for later in the tournament.

Meanwhile - a theory on the refereeing. We seem to be getting the 'assumption of guilt' in any contact. Is this a carry-over from the 17's World's where we were generously described as the most 'physical' team in the tournament by ESPN and as outright dirty by some other coaches. Has a FIBA official said 'let's keeo an eye on those dirty Aussie girls?'. I could be convinced.

Another solid win.

What was even more pleasing was the fact Snell led our scoring given her issues in battling fitness.

Snell had 17 (4/5 3PT) while Jackson & Harrower had 13 each.

Taylor played 11 minutes in promising signs, but Bishop only played 2 minutes.

Our turnovers continue to be a concern, we gave up 20 compared to Belarus' 21. We smashed them on the boards, winning 46-29, and we hit 8/16 from long range, a massive improvement from game 1.

Basketball Australia Recap: http://linky.com.au/ogiq6

Don't forget replay is on at 12:30pm AEST today on Fox Sports, a great lead in to watching the AFL Grand Final.

We play China tonight at 11:00pm AEST before earning a day off tomorrow.

Dont know what you mean about the score flattering the Opals - surely it is a case of relentless pressure wearing the opposition down, with a lot of the time not even the Opals best combinations on the floor.

One thing most people forget is how little the Australians play in regular international competition with their full team. We play New Zealand, usually 2 games, whereas the European nations have a lot more games against quality opposition to qualify.

Actually Australia are leading by 10 points at the half. Graf is subbing a lot less frequently this game but most players have had time on court. The Erin Phillips foul was there, she changed direction slightly to her left and made a shepharding action with her left arm. Her Dad would have been proud. Shouldnt have even been called as it had no impact on the play but it was there.

Bishop played well last night but just didnt fit in with the players on the court tonight.

I haven't been up with the news......is Taylor injured?

I am very curious as to what the aims of Basketball SA are?

Is it to produce future "Brett Maher's"?
Is it to provide a competition to get as many people playing basketball as possible?
Is is to make a profit - in $?
Is it to provide a strong competion to challenge our Victorian counterparts?
Is it something else?
or a combination of the above.

Lots of people seem to have different agenda's?

I would like to see Basketball in SA develop. More kids playing basketball, and a more evan competition.

I have a couple of questions?
Why is school basketball not associated to Basketball SA?
Where does Church basketball fit in?
Why is there no outdoor basketball?

We need to get as many kids playing basketball?
We do not have enough stadiums, and we need to keep the costs down for a lot of parents who cannot afford to spend hours running around various basketball stadiums around Adelaide.

I do think this sport will suffer until it is on free to air TV.

What do you think?